I just heard about the terrible storms

crystalniche · #1 06/05/05, 05:35 PM

in the midwest and am hoping and praying that everyone is ok. It really scared me to see those pictures of the storm clouds and to hear about all those tornados. I cannot imagine living with this type of weather each season. Here we do get tornados but they are rare. I've read about having a "grab sack or bag" ready and am wondering just what one puts into it. How do you decide what to save? I mean other than the obvious family members and pets. Curious but would rather make one up and not need it than need it and not have it.

TabletopHomestead · #2 06/05/05, 07:06 PM

My dh saw an inpressive twister forming right over our house. Fortunately, it changed it's mind before it got to the ground.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crystalniche

in the midwest and am hoping and praying that everyone is ok. It really scared me to see those pictures of the storm clouds and to hear about all those tornados. I cannot imagine living with this type of weather each season. Here we do get tornados but they are rare. I've read about having a "grab sack or bag" ready and am wondering just what one puts into it. How do you decide what to save? I mean other than the obvious family members and pets. Curious but would rather make one up and not need it than need it and not have it.

shawnee · #3 06/05/05, 07:33 PM

The storms petered out late afternoon - lots of flooding since heavy rainfall Wed. thru Sat. Quiet on Sunday (as it should be!). I keep all my picture negatives in safe deposit box at bank; the rest not in albums (i always get duplicates) I keep in a large suitcase. On my way to the basement that is the first thing I grab out of the closet at the HEAD of the basement. I also have a wind-up radio and shake flashlite and whistle in basement. The area under the stairs is very, very sturdy; I keep two baby crib mattresses there on top of a tarp I spread on flor below. 2 large plastic totes have 2 pr. each underwear, socks shirts and jeans and l pr. ea. tennis shoes. I always store water down there and we all have BOB's at hand in upstairs closet with take-a-long food (trailmix, tea bags, sugarfree kool-aid, ramen noodles, crackers, aspirin, vitamins, can openers, small battery radios with extra batteries and copies of our soc. sec. cards). I guess if house is goin' the only thing I would want would be pics. Seems that is what means the most to those I've always seen struck on TV or heard about around here that matters to folks. Tents are packed at back of stairwell; that's also where we keep our sleeping bags. These days with crazy weather everyone should, I think, plan for the unexpected.

Ann-NWIowa · #4 06/05/05, 08:18 PM

I agree with Shawnee's list except I'd change tennis shoes for study shoes and add financial/personal papers, a towel, couple wash clothes, soap, tooth brush, leather gloves and any medications the family takes. Having lived through a tornado I can tell you after 2 or 3 days receiving a Red Cross ditty bag with a tooth brush and a wash cloth was heaven. Our house was so badly damaged it had to be taken down, but we were able to use our clothing. However, the bathroom "exploded" so we didn't have even a tooth brush left. Living in a tornado area isn't any worse than anywhere else. Hurricanes last for hours or even days, earthquakes cannot be predicted, at least with a tornado you get warning, you take cover (and pray) and its over. If you get wiped out, you get wiped out but survive to rebuild and go on.

diane · #5 06/06/05, 08:08 AM

I was amazed to wake up and find our power was restored during the night!! By the looks of our place I expected it would be days before we had power again. Trees snapped and up rooted all over. We feel very blessed that our home and buildings were undamaged accept for a little roofing gone off one outbuilding.

At my age I just feel grateful if I can make it to the shelter in time. We do have a large food supply in our shelter and in reality stuff is just that.......stuff. I don't have time to be grabbing "stuff" but I do have copies of important papers stored in a safe place. We grab pets and each other.

I can't imagine going through a hurricane!! The high, straightline winds last evening only lasted for about 10 minutes and it seemed like a lifetime hearing trees cracking and crashing down on our shelter!!!

shawnee · #6 06/06/05, 11:56 AM

Yup, hurricanes much worse than a tornado, for sure. Just waiting for the wind to go down when a storm comes in or tornado pops up is nothing compared to the constant shrieking of wind during a hurricane. Had a friend moved to Florida with husband on military duty; she lasted one hurricane cat.2 and back to Oklahoma of all places she scuttled; never went back to Fla. Hubby had to pack and move all they had himself! Made a believer out of her; she couldn't wait to move there for the fresh seafood. She Long John's it now...enough famaily here not to pack too heavily in our BOB's - all of us on high ground, too. It can flood here a lot in central Ks. and that was the one thing I insisted on wherever we have lived. No treadin' water for me!!